Remotely operable means for draining submerged pump structure



REMOTELY OPERABLE MEANS FOR DRAINING SUBMERGED PUMP STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 50, 1956 W. RATTERMAN, JR

July 24, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 24, 1962 w. RATTERMAN, JR 3,04

REMOTELY OPERABLE MEANS FOR DRAINING SUBMERGED PUMP STRUCTURE Filed Jan. 50, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f 11 I INVENTOR.

87 li/dizefi Waterman/r 19- "M4 2mg nite rates atent Patented July 24, 1962 3,045,608 REMOTELY OPERABLE MEANS FOR DRAINING SUBMERGED PUMP STRUCTURE Walter Ratterman, In, 2819 Bransford Ave., Nashville, Tenn. Filed Jan. 30, 1956, Ser. No. 562,231 1 Claim. (Cl. 103-221) extension therefor) on the suction Side of the valve proper,

or (2) liftingly connected to the foot-valve diaphragm, whereby a moderately strong pull upon the cable will drain the pump and the pipe or pipes extending upwardly therefrom, thereby greatly reducing the weight of the submerged structure of the pumping system for facilitating its removal from the ground.

Heretofore, the removal of deep-well pump structure has required the use of derricks, largely because of the weight of the water or other liquid trapped in the submerged pipe or pipes. The present invention, by reducing the weight of the structure to a small part of its weight when filled with water, makes the removal much easier and in most cases Will eliminate the necessity of using a derrick. This is particularly true of installations using the new and increasingly popular extruded-plastic pipe, which due to its flexibility can easily be withdrawn by a single workman without the use of any auxiliary apparatus.

It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to provide remotely operable means for draining submerged pump structure for facilitating its removal for replacement or repair, by reducing the weight of the structure to a fraction of its water-filled Weight, thereby adapting the system for do-it-yourself maintainence, especially where flexible tubing is employed.

It is another object of the invention to provide an adaptor for pumps of conventional construction so that the herein-disclosed invention can be applied thereto with out modifications of the pump proper.

It is a further object to provide means for lifting the foot-valve diaphragm for the additional purposes of providing reverse-flushing of pebbles or other obstructions from the valve seat, and/or to aid in priming the pump.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following detailed description thereof proceeds.

In the drawings, forming a part of this specification and in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan View of the pump housing of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational view, in vertical axial section, of the foot valve of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of a modification of FIG. 1, omitting the removable plug.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the showing of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a somewhat schematic plan view of a singlepipe form of the FIG. 4 invention.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of an adaptor species of the invention, in section taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the adaptor of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a bottom plan view of the showing of FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of a two-pipe adaptor, in vertical section taken on the line 10-10 of FIG. 11.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the adaptor of FIG, 10*.

With reference now to FIGS; 13 of the drawings, the numeral 21 designates the block or housing of a conven tional jet-type pump. Block 21 is provided with tapped bores 23 for threaded connection thereto of the pressure or input conduit 25 and the output conduit 27. Conduit 27 is herein illustrated as being of the flexible-tube (extruded-plastic) type and as being fastened to the connector 27 by conventional clamps 29. (The conduit connected to the sleeve 25 can also be a flexible tube, if desired.) A ring 31 surrounds the conduit 27 and is provided With an eye 31a for guiding the cable 33, which is formed of stainless steel or equivalent material. Cable 33 leads to the surface of the earth and is connected by any suitable means, such as the ring fixture 35, to a plug 37 that normally seals the drain aperture 39. Plug 37 is preferably made of soft metal or alloy, or of deformable plastic or rubber-like material, so that the threads thereof may readily be stripped by a moderately strong pull upon the cable 33 to remove the plug from the draining opening 39. However, it should be noted that the plug 37 need not be threaded as shown, since a press-fit of proper design would be entirely satisfactory.

FIGS. 1-3 also disclose a pump-draining arrangement that can be used in addition to, or in place of, the removable plug above-described. This arrangement comprises a cable 41 (which could be a branch of the cable 33) passing snugly through a bore 43 in the block 21, and connected by the structure generally designated 45 to the diaphragm 47 of the foot valve 49. Valve 49 has the usual casing 51, valve seat 53, strainer 55, and valveclosing tension coil-spring 57.

In FIGS. 4 and 5 the valve block or casing 21' is provided only with the cable-receiving bore 43' for the cable 41', and the previously described removable plug and drain opening closed thereby being omitted. It should be noted that the species of the invention employing means for lifting the foot-valve diaphragm has an additional important function of providing means for assisting in priming the pump and/or for reverse-flushing the foot valve for removing pebbles or other leakage-inducing foreign matter from the valve chamber. Such reverseflushing will frequently remove foreign matter that would otherwise necessitate withdrawal of the pump from the well for its removal.

FIG. 6 illustrates a single-pipe modification of the invention in which the valve casing or block 21" is provided with an extension 22 through which the bore 43" can be passed without unduly weakening the walls of the casing.

FIGS. 7-9 disclose a single-pipe adaptor for attachment to pumps of conventional construction. This adaptor comprises a main block of suitable metallic or nonmetallic substances (such as bronze, aluminum, stainless steel, plastic, etc.) provided with a vertical bore 63 tapped at 65 for connection to the outlet opening in the pump casing by any suitable means, such as a nipple (not shown), and tapped at 67 for connection by suitable means (not shown) to the output conduit 27 (FIG. 1). A smaller block 69 is molded on or otherwise connected to the main block 61 and has a chamber 71 therein communicating with the bore 63. The upper wall of the smaller hollow block 69 is provided with a bore 73 to receive the removable plug 75. Bore 73 and plug 75 are herein illustrated as being provided with mating threads, but, as heretofore pointed out, can be press-fittedly assembled. The threads (if any) on the plug 75 are readily stripped by a moderately strong pull on the cable 77 attached to the plug 75 by the structure generally designated 79.

FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate a two-pipe adaptor, comprising a main block 81 having parallel vertical bores 83 therethrough. Bores 83 are tapped at 87 and medially communicate with the chambers 91 in the extension block 93. The upper wall 95 of the block 93 is provided with threaded apertures 95' to receive the removable plugs 97. Plugs 97 are removable, as heretofore described, by a moderately strong pull on the branched cable 98 connected to the plugs by the structure generally designated 99.

While I have disclosed certain preferred embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that many changes can be made in the size, shape, composition and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the subjoined claim.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A submerged pump structure comprising a pump chamber having an intake opening at its bottom, a movable foot valve freely downwardly seated in said opening around the entire circumference of the valve so as topermit the entire circumference to be cleared of said opening upon raising of said foot valve, and said foot valve being responsive to variations in fluid pressures during pumping and fluid-column holding operation, yieldable means attached at one end to said pump structure bottom, extending through said opening and attached at its other end to a medial underside portion of said valve, said yieldable means normally urging said foot valve member towards closed position against said opening, and opening means extending from a topside medial portion of said foot valve member to above ground, said opening References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 51,474 Pease Dec. 12, 1865 309,406 Rook Dec. 16, 1884 353,897 Teague Dec. 7, 1886 360,781 Nye Apr. 5, 1887 459,299 Mills Sept. 8, 1891 723,676 Jones Mar. 24, 1903 1,266,509 McKee May 14, 1918 1,334,408 Shrauger Mar. 23, 1920 1,413,767 Nutting Apr. 25, 1922 1,595,074 Crews Aug, 10, 1926 1,715,540 Edwards et a1 June 4, 1929 1,759,909 Locke May 27, 1930 1,882,894 Powers Oct. 18, 1932 2,468,642 Shallenberg Apr. 26, 1949 2,633,081 Ruth Mar. 31, 1953 2,694,365 Armstrong et a1 Nov. 16, 1954 2,730,959 Brenner Apr. 17, 1956 OTHER REFERENCES 0 Copyright 1937. 

